On Valentine’s Day, a game any hoops fan would love

Wachusett and St. John’s were well-matched.
Joyce Roberts photo When two teams sitting high atop their respective league standings collide in a late-season matchup with one seeking to avenge a holiday tournament thumping, it’s almost a sure thing to be an electrifying crowd-pleaser. Many on hand would refer to this Feb. 14 matchup as a Valentine’s Day Special.

Neither team, visiting St. John’s and Wachusett Regional, would disappoint, treating fans to a nail-biter in this boys varsity basketball matchup. But in the end, it was the Pioneers edging their hosts, 52-48, with both teams battling hard to the end.

St. John’s advanced its record to 17-3 in the tough Central Mass. Division while Wachusett slipped to 14-4 in Midland-A with post-season play rapidly approaching.

The Mountaineers were seeking to even things among the two teams by avenging a 60-36 thrashing at the hands of the Pioneers in December’s Laska Invitational Tournament held at Assumption College during the Christmas break. The loss knocked Wachusett out of the tournament’s top spot, but looking back, the team acknowledges that the experience was a turning point in the 2013-2014 season.

Tyler Dion in a familiar spot: Approaching the basket. He led all scorers with 21 points.
Joyce Roberts photo “We were really amped up to play tonight because we knew we weren’t going to get blown out like that again,” said sophomore point guard Tyler Dion who led all scorers with 21 points. “First time we played them, they just outran us and killed us down low. We knew today that wasn’t going to happen. We played a zone tonight to try to disrupt them and it did. It helped us get out in transition and get some easy points.”

Wachusett sprung out to an early lead, holding a 16-8 margin after the first quarter. But the advantage was short-lived as the Pioneers went on a 10-0 run. Late in the half, Brian Quinn propelled a long threepoint attempt that danced along the rim for what seemed like seconds before falling to put Wachusett up 21-20. St. John’s then rattled off five consecutive points to take a 25-21 lead into the break.

Each team swapped leads in the late-going with the visitors clinging to a 38-36 lead after three quarters. Dion put Wachusett up 42-40 with a trey from downtown and the stage was set for a climactic finish.

Dion converted once more on what may have been the play of the night with a spinning three-point shot that put the Mountaineers up 48-47 with under a minute to play. But St. John’s sophomore guard Adham Floyd was Mister Clutch outmaneuvering the Wachusett defense for the winning baskets.

“It was a play that coach drew up in the huddle,” Dion said of his near game-winner. “It was either I got the three or Justin (Bowker) slipped to the basket. The three was open because I got good screens and I was able to knock down the shot. It didn’t matter in the end as it turned out but it was a pretty big shot at the time.

“We’ll take some confidence out of this one. It was definitely deflating to lose but this will help us moving forward. They blew us out the first game so now we know. Come districts we can play with them. We can play with anybody because they’re one of the top teams in central Mass. so it was a pretty big confidence builder in that way.”

The team concludes its regular season with a home matchup versus Brockton on Feb. 20 and then it is a waiting game to reveal District seedings and opponents. Players, fans and coaches are optimistic based on how far the team has come from the season’s outset.

“I’m really proud of our guys and the effort tonight. We just needed a stop late in the game and came up just a little bit short,” said head coach Tom Gibbons. “This was a great high school game. They blew us out earlier in the year. I know that we’ve improved and this just proves it.

“We took away from that that we had to get better as a group and commit to our defense and being more physical which we were tonight. It shows you what a season of improvement and hard work can do. It puts you in position to beat one of the top teams in the area.”